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How Soft Walls and Soft Cars saved me
by Duane Delamarter
May 2, 2001

While browsing through different pages on Autoracing1.com I ran across your article dated Feb. 26 Soft Walls vs. Soft cars. The article was very informative and most probably quite accurate. 

I have raced short tracks in western New York for years and for the past few years, asphalt modifieds. These cars are extremely fast and dangerous. But we have an abundance of testosterone and love this division. The modified manufactures have worked hard at making these cars softer in the front (crumple zones) to increase the crush zones there and have done a great job doing so and have made the cars actually faster ( a good thing ). 

Lancaster Speedway has also had soft wall for years and the drivers, car owners, and families have gone so far as to offer to buy the foam if the track can't afford it. I have hit these walls both with and without the foam and can tell you, they work! 

Now to my point. My first year in the modifieds, while moving up through the field, my right front steering joint failed just as I entered turn three. Lancaster is a very fast 5/8 mile and speeds hit about 125 mph down the back straight. I climbed the left front tire of the car outside of me and my car turned right, flew in the air, and the corner man said I never hit the track before I hit the wall, full speed at almost 125 MPH and at a 90 angle to the wall. Not 20 or 30 degrees but 90. The front bumper was compressed perfectly flat. 

Because of Troyer's (chassis builder) work and because of lessons learned from death and injuries of other modified drivers, the front wheels ended up over the roof and the car folded perfectly (the crumple zone worked as designed). Also because of the soft walls, the car had an additional 4 feet to slow down before I blasted the concrete. 

The result; I got out of the car bruised and battered, helped the tow truck driver load my car, the fans got a great foam explosion ( it was cleaned up and the race under way before I got the car into the trailer ), I drove home with my wife, she got an article about it printed in Stock Car Racing, and everyone learned a lesson. To survive, stop hitting hard things with hard cars at fast speeds. 

Editors Note: There is no way this driver would have survived hitting a wall at 90 degrees at 120 MPH unless he was in a car with a Crumple Zone and he hit a Soft Wall.  One without the other would not have worked at that speed at that angle. The only thing missing was his HANS Device.  Having two out of three - crumple zone, soft wall and/or HANS Device, significantly increases a drivers chance for survival. MC

Duane Delamarter

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